THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN

AND NORTHERN IRELAND

1 - Lecture. Theme: Geographical Survey (territory and structure)

Plan: 1. Geographical position (territory, physical structure and relief)

The aim of the lecture: To get acquainted with the geographical position, climate and
weather; 2 The largest rivers, lakes and mountains; vegetation; Main economic regions of the
UK; Mineral resources and their deposits; General characteristics of British Industry.

Key words:
Europe ['juәrәp] –Eвpona Severn ['sevәn]- Северн
the English Channel [i`ŋgliʃ`tʃænl]-пролив Ла the Bristol Channel ['bristәl' t∫ænl] –
Манш Бристольский залив
the Irish Sea ['aiәri∫'si:] - Ирландскoe Mope the Tyne [tain] – р.Тайн
the Isle of Wight [ail әv'wait] – Остров Уайт the Trent [trent] - p.Трент
Anglesea ['æŋglsi:] - Энглси the Mersey ['mә:zi] – р.Мерсей
the Isle of Man ['ail әv'mæn] – Остров Мэн Liverpool ['livәpul] -Ливерпуль
the Hebrides ['hebridi:z] - Гебриды the Clyde[klaid] - р.Клайд
Scotland [skɔtlənd] - Шотландия Cumberland [kʌmbәlend]-Кэмберлeнд
the Orkney Islands ['ɔːknɪ ' aɪləndz] – Westmorland [westmәlәnd]-Уэстморленд
Оркнейские острова Lancashire [læŋkә∫iә]-Ланкашир
the Shetland Islands ['ʃetlənd' aɪləndz ]– Northumberland [nɔ:Өʌmbələnd]-
Шетландские острова Нортумберленд
England [ɪŋglənd] - Англия Yorkshire  [jɔːk ʃɪə]-Йоркшир
Wales [weilz] – Уэльс Nottinghamshire [nɔtiŋæm∫iә]-Ноттингемшир
moorland ['muәlәnd] – пустошь,поросшая Cornwall [kɔːnwəl]-Ко́рнуолл
вереском Devonshire [devәn∫iә]-Девоншир
the Highlands of Scotland [hailәndz әv'skɔtlәnd] Derbyshire [dа:bi∫iә]-Дербишир
– северная высокогорная часть Шотландии Cumberland [kʌmbәlәnd]-Кемберленд
Glasgow ['gl ɑːsgou] – Глазго
Aberdeen [,æbә'di:n] – Эбердин
Ben Nevis ['ben'neviz] – Бен Невис
the Central Plain of Scotland ['sentrәl'plein
әv'skɔtlənd] Центральная Шотландская
равнина
the Pennines [penainz] - Пеннинские горы
the Cumbrians -[kʌmbrɪənz] – Кембрийские
горы
Snowdon ['snoudәn] – Сноудон
the Lake District ['leik'distrikt] –Озёрный край
the Thames [temz] - Темза
Oxford ['ɔksfәd] – Оксфорд
the Gulf Stream ['gʌlf,stri:m] - Гольфстрим
the Gulf of Mexico ['meksikou] – Мексиканский
залив
Lecture 1.
The content of the lecture: GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. TERRITORY AND
STRUCTURE. RELIEF
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British
Isles – a large group of islands lying on the north-western coast of Europe and separated from
the continent by the English Channel (or La Manche) and Strait of Dover (or Pas de Calais) in
the south and the North Sea in the east. The British Isles consist of two large islands – Great
Britain and Ireland –separated by the Irish Sea, and a lot of small islands, the main of which
are the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, Anglesea and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, the
Hebrides – a group of islands off the north-western coast of Scotland, and two groups of
islands lying to the north of Scotland: the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the
state which is sometimes referred to as Great Britain or Britain (after its major historic part) or
the British Isles.
The UK is an Island state: it is composed of about 5,500 islands, large and small. The
two main islands are Great Britain (in which are England, Wales and Scotland) to the east and
Ireland (in which are Northern Ireland and the Independent Irish Republic) to the west. They
are separated by the Irish Sea.
The general slope of the land is from north-west to south-east. The mountains cover the
greater part of the northern, western and middle Great Britain. They can be divided into the
following groups:
a) The Highlands of Scotland occupy most of the land to the north-west of a line drawn
from Glasgow to Aberdeen. Two parts of the Highlands-the North-western Highlands and the
Grampians-are separated by a narrow valley, through which runs the Caledonian Canal. At the
south-western end of the Highlands rises Ben Nevis, 1343m, the highest mountain of the
British Isles.
b) The Central Plain of Scotland separates the Highlands from the Southern Uplands of
Scotland. The Southern Uplands and the Pennines, which stretch in the north-south direction
across the northern and middle parts of England, from a practically continuous group.
c) Nearly the whole of Wales is occupied by the Cumbrians. The highest peak of the
Cumbrians is Snowdon, 1085m.
The south-eastern part of England is lowland, interrupted in places by low chalk ridges.
The UK is one of the world’s smaller countries (it is twice smaller than France or Spain),
with an area of some 244,100 (244,088) square kilometers. English is not the only language
which people use in the UK. English is the official language. But some people speak Gaelic in
western Scotland, Welsh – in parts of northern and central Wales.
The flag of the UK, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The upright
red cross is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is
the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St.
Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
CLIMATE and WEATHER
Great Britain enjoys the humid and mild marine West-Coast climate with warm winters
and cool summers and a lot of rainfall throughout the year.
The prevailing winds blow from the south-west. As these winds blow from the ocean,
they are mild in winter and cool in summer, and are heavily charged with moisture at all times.
Therefore the wettest parts of Britain are those areas where high mountains lie near the west
coast: the western Highlands of Scotland, the Lake District and North Wales. The eastern part
of Britain is said to be in the rain-shadow, as the winds lose most of their moisture in their
passage over the highlands of the west.
All parts of the British Isles receive rain at any time of the year. Still autumn and winter
are the wettest seasons, except in the Thames district, where most rain falls in the summer half
of the year. Oxford, for example, has 29 per cent of its rain in summer and only 22 per cent in
winter.
As to temperature, Great Britain has warmer winter than any other district in the same
latitude. It is due in large measure to the prevalence of mild south-west winds. Another factor
is the Gulf Stream, which flows from the Gulf of Mexico and brings much warmth from the
equatorial regions to north-western Europe.

INLAND WATERS
The rivers of GB are short, their direction and character are determined by the position of
the mountains. Most of the rivers flow by the eastward direction since the west coast is
mountainous.
Due to the humid climate and abundant rainfall, the water level in the rivers is always
high. The rivers seldom freeze in winter; most of them remain ice free. Many of the rivers are
joined together by canals. This system of rivers and canals provides a good means of cheap
inland water transport.
British rivers are not navigable for ocean ships, but they form deep estuaries, and
strong tides penetrating into them prevent the formation of deltas. Most of the large ports of
Great Britain are situated in the estuaries.
The most important rivers are Severn, flowing from the Cumbrian Mountains in Wales
into the Bristol Channel, the Thames, flowing across the plains of south-eastern England and
emptying into the North Sea, the Tyne and the Trent, flowing from the eastern slopes of the
Pennines to the North Sea, the Mersey, flowing down the western slopes of the Pennines and
emptying into the Irish Sea at Liverpool, and the Clyde in Scotland, which flows west across
the Southern Uplands and on which the port of Glasgow is situated.
Owing to the fact that British lakes are rather small and have no outlets, they afford
limited economic possibilities in the system of navigable waterways. But most of them,
especially those situated in the counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and north Lancashire,
are famous for their unique beauty and picturesque surroundings. Famous is the English Lakes
District, occupying a comparatively small area. It is a place of steep ridges and deep valleys,
smooth slopes and deep lakes, ravines, waterfalls and green meadows. The Lake District is one
of the most popular holiday districts in Great Britain.
VEGETATION
Many parts of highland Britain have only thin, poor soils. As a result, there are large
stretches of moorland in the Highlands of Scotland, the Pennines, the Lake District, the
mountains of Wales and in some parts of north-east and south-west England. In most of these
areas the farmers have cultivated only the valley lands and the plains where the soils are
deeper and richer.
With its mild climate and varied soils, Britain has rich natural vegetation. When the
islands were first settled, oak forests have been cut down, and now woodlands occupy only
about 7 per cent of the surface of the country. The most common trees are oak, beech, ash and
elm, and in Scotland also pine and bitch. Most of the countryside England is agricultural land,
about a third of which is arable, and the rest is pasture and meadow.
ANIMAL LIFE
The animal life of the British Isles is now much poorer than it was a few centuries ago.
With the disappearance of forests, many forest animals, including the wolf, the bear, the boar,
the deer and the Irish elk, have become practically extinct. There are foxes in most rural areas,
and otters are found along many rivers and streams. Of smaller animals are mice, rats,
hedgehogs, moles, squirrels, hares rabbits and weasels.
There are a lot of birds, including many song-birds. Blackbirds, sparrows and starlings
are probably most common. There are many sea-birds, which nest round the coasts and often
fly far inland in search of food or shelter in rough weather.
MINERAL RESOURCES
 GB is rich in coal. There are rich coal basins in Northumberland, Lancashire,
Nottinghamshire, South Wales, North Wales and Glasgow.
Among other resources, iron ores found alongside coal layers are of primary importance.
There are tin and copper mines in Cornwall and Devonshire, copper and lean mines in
England. Lead and silver ores are also mined in Derbyshire and Cumberland and Lancashire.

Control questions:
1. What is the general slope of the land in GB?
2. What climate does Great Britain enjoy?
3. What are the characteristic features of this climate?
4. What mineral resources is GB rich in?
5. Why does GB have rich natural vegetation?

HOME TASK ASSIGNMENTS

1. Write a brief review of the lecture in your own words (approximately 300 words)

2. Search for the additional information on the given theme. Present it in a creative
way. (PPT presentations, video clips, games and questionnaires, photo albums or
paintings, etc., are welcomed).